GLENDALE, Ariz. — Forget the summer of soccer, 2016 is the summer of Chicharito.
The Copa America Centenario is already underway and the European Championships begin shortly. There will be winners and losers. Two countries will lift prestigious trophies. Other individuals will shine. But as Mexico prepares to begin its Copa America campaign against Uruguay, it is forward Javier Hernandez who could have the world at his feet.
The forward stands on the cusp of Mexican soccer history, just two goals from tying Jared Borgetti as the all-time leading scorer in his country's history. And if things go right, it could be his Mexico side standing on the podium June 26 in MetLife Stadium. If Mexico makes it that far, it will be in no small part thanks to Chicharito. You don't need a very long memory to recall El Tri's friendly win against Chile - a match in which they lacked a punch for much of the contest. Chicharito came in and within minutes had scored the winning goal.
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His hot club form leading into the summer hints that it will be a huge month for the forward. The former Chivas star never really slowed down with the national team, but he fell out of favor at Manchester United and never broke past some of the world's best attackers at Real Madrid. This summer's move to Bayer Leverkusen, a club where he was not only a day-in, day-out starter but also one that had talented playmakers just waiting to feed a center forward with chances, has paid enormous dividends. Chicharito bagged 17 league goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances, 25 of which came as starts. He added five Champions League goals and four goals in the German cup to that impressive league haul.
No longer just a poacher, Chicharito has honed his all-around game since the move. Clearly he was working on the training ground while not getting minutes with the Red Devils and Los Blancos, because he's less reliant on service from the wings. He'll get it from Mexico, however. Manager Juan Carlos Osorio focuses on getting wide, with players like Hirving Lozano, Javier Aquino and Jesus "Tecatito" Corona able to strech defenders so Chicharito can find space. Fullbacks Miguel Layun, who assisted Wednesday's winner, Jorge Torres Nilo and Paul Aguilar add even more of a threat to the outer realms of the Mexico attack. This summer will present many opportunities for Chicharito to tie, surpass and put distance between himself and Borgetti.
And in this tournament, which some cynics are completely ignoring because of the commercial nature of it taking place in the United States or taking place at all, there is nobody more marketable. Despite turning 28 the day of his tally against Chile, Chicharito still maintains a baby face that has fans male and female alike fawning over his looks, especially when he sends them his modest smile. When the Mexican national team arrived in Arizona, it was Chicharito who the politicians welcoming the team wanted to meet. His Twitter, despite ending in an underscore, has more than 6.4 million followers and while his Twitter bio says "NO FACEBOOK", various fan pages and frauds have hundreds of thousands of likes despite the social network removing many of the pages.
This tournament will see the real article play in front of tens of thousands of fans in the stadium and hundreds of thousands more watching on television. You will see Chicharito on commercials, on beverage bottles, on just about anything where you can put a player's image. Though other Mexicans playing in Europe have become stars in their own right - Andres Guardado and Hector Moreno are champions, Guillermo Ochoa also is a huge fan favorite, Rafa Marquez is an active legend - none approach Chicharito's levels of popularity.
His fame will continue to grow if he performs as expected at the Copa America Centenario. Chicharito has never scored in University of Phoenix Stadium, but don't be surprised if he starts moving toward history and making sure that we remember 2016 as the summer of Chicharito.
- Goal